Cinema
The cinematographic items appear from the beginning in the Italian Encyclopedia (see cinema, X, p. 335 ), in which experiments on moving objects and the 'machinery' used to reproduce them in image before the invention of the cinemaof the Lumière brothers. The discussion also focuses on the indispensable objects of the machine c. (projectors, lenses, film, etc.), on the first experiments with color and sound, on the different forms of language (close-up, fading, superimposition, etc.), on industry, on c. educational and on the architecture of the cinema. The most important national cinemas (Italy, United States, France, Germany, Russia, Sweden) are then historically analyzed from their origins until the beginning of the 1930s. App. I (p. 420 ) reports on the progress in the field of image and the sound revolution occurred with the first spoken film, The jazz singer ( 1927)) by A. Crosland. Here are some sub-themes on scientific cinematography and legislation in different countries (Italy, Germany, Czechoslovakia, France, England, Switzerland, United States). App. II ( i, p. 592 ) mention is made of the improvements achieved in the field of cameras, films, lenses. There are also sub-themes on the documentary, on c. didactic and scientific, on the different systems of color cinematography (Technicolor, Agfacolor, Kodachrome, Dufaycolor), on music in c. and updates on the history and aesthetics of the film, on the industry, legislation and architecture of cinemas. App. III ( i , p. 384) on the one hand the new three-dimensional projection systems (Cinerama, Cinemascope, drive-ins) and the publicity regulation of cinematography, with references to censorship, and on the other the historical and aesthetic transformations that have taken place in the cinemas of the most important countries from the post-war period onwards. App. IV ( i , p. 446 ) the lemma changes from cinema to cinematography . The item highlights the progress in the technical field and the first signs of an economic crisis caused by the growing role of television. The App. V ( i , p. 636 ) dedication to c. a considerable space. The cinematography voiceincludes numerous sub-themes: technical innovations, co-production, distribution, restoration, scientific cinematography, documentary, c. underground , thriller, Oscar awards. The films of many countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia are also treated for the first time. Most of the voices dedicated to European and non-European countries include the cinema sub-theme . Some biographies of film actors and directors (eg, G. Garbo, Ch. Chaplin) already appear in the Encyclopedia ; the App. III their numbers increase considerably; App. V the biographies of the most important Italian and foreign filmmakers and interpreters are inserted. *
CINEMA HISTORY
by Gianni Rondolino
The celebrations for the first centenary of the cinema, which took place in 1995in many European and non-European countries, they reopened the question of the meaning of c. in the modern civilization of the image, of its validity in an area of social communication now dominated by vision in all its forms and articulations. Both on the level of theory, as well as on that of criticism and information, the question has been addressed in various aspects, taking into account both the undoubted impact and the c. it continues to have undifferentiated audiences on the public, conditioning at least in part the various social behaviors, both of its value as a means of investigating reality in comparison with other media, such as television, which have certainly much more incisive and immediate potentialities on the real . Without going into the merits of these discussions,1995, which marks a sort of emblematic date, it is also necessary to keep in mind a non-secondary aspect of the cinematographic enjoyment, no longer limited as it was once only to public entertainment theaters or, for certain films, to festivals and cinema clubs.
Ever since television took on a role of support of the c., In the sense of its widespread diffusion through the programming of films, more and more on all available channels and networks, and since the use of the video recorder has promoted a Equally widespread distribution of videotapes, the film market has reached a different economic and social dimension. Consequently, even the public, no longer identifiable as a normal cinema-goer but as an individual user of films, has lost its peculiar and traditional characteristics to acquire others. So much so that today it is more correct to speak of different audiences, better still of single spectators, who have with c. a personal relationship, made of motivated choices, rather than a single audience.
The consequence of this different attendance of c. on the part of the spectators or, if you wish, of the co-presence of various ways and times in the cinematographic enjoyment, it has been a different articulation of the production, which has been moving in the last decade towards a plurality of proposals. On the one hand, the great spectacular production has intensified, more suited to the big screen, with films that are based precisely on the spectacular nature, often obtained with the so-called special effects or with the use of grandiloquent scenographies and large mass movements. On the other, low-cost films have been made, which appeal to a different audience, both through the circuit of specialized theaters, and through television and videotapes.
But the use of c. through television and videotapes it has also produced new forms, new models, a new way of narrating through images. For example, the use of quotation has spread, that is the use of black and white, alone or in combination with color, or the return to standard formats, to the normal screen. In fact, the undifferentiated consumption of films of today and yesterday - with the consequence of a better knowledge of the history of the world, but above all of a continuous vision of different directorial, interpretive and productive styles, almost a continuumuninterrupted cinema, in which the films seem to add up to each other, effectively mixing spectacular techniques and models - it has created an omnivorous audience, which accepts, indeed sometimes solicits, the mix of styles and techniques, and even quotes , allusions, explicit references. We are faced with a sort of 'zeroing' of historical and cultural differences, of 'flattening' of aesthetic values, but also, consequently, of a willingness to experiment, to widen the fields of competence, to novelties and to time. same to the repetitions.
The film production of the 1990s has largely taken these new forms of consumption into account, and the most significant authors and films are often born in this climate of experimentation, with results that are not always convincing, but certainly indicative of this trend. However, more traditional works and schools remain, which refer to the old canons of c. popular and turn to that part of the public that continues to see in the cinema show the place of pure fun, escape from everyday reality, escape in the daydream.
On a more strictly industrial and commercial level, these innovations have not always coincided with a positive development. There remains a production crisis which has only partially been resolved or is being resolved, and in some cinemas. In others, however, it has worsened, for a series of reasons that do not refer only to the sphere of industry and commerce, but arise from specific historical and political situations. Just think of the collapse of the Soviet Union and the new structure of many Eastern European states. Think of the social changes or economic difficulties that have affected states, small or large, in Africa, Asia, Latin America. Nor should we overlook the fact that, in the face of these difficulties and crises, there has been a revival of c.
This situation of production crisis, which has affected many countries and consequently reduced the panorama of the c. contemporary, however, did not prevent the proliferation of small initiatives, independent realizations, poor products, individual research, thanks also to the cheapness of new technologies, which allow you to make films and videos with few means. Hence a vast film production, often relegated to festivals and alternative circuits, which has its own value and meaning and confirms the vitality of the c., One hundred years after its birth, as a means of expression and knowledge of reality, of entertainment and entertainment, aesthetic research and technical experimentation.
Also for the nineties, as for the previous decade, the United States' film production was imposed on the world market not only for the quantity of the products and the technical and spectacular quality of the same, but also for the validity of certain artistic proposals and the number of authors who have established themselves and have continued their aesthetic and cultural discourse. The diversification of genres and styles, content and techniques has also favored a variety of films that have met the favor of the international audience. Even if the old Hollywood has given way to a different articulation of the production, no longer limited to the canonical places of the Californian studies, but widespread throughout the country with a prevalence of New York and its surroundings, it is certain that the c. the United States has regained a statute of quality, if not homogeneity, which has brought it back to the glories of Hollywood in the golden years. Even traditional genres, although updated in the ways and forms of c. contemporary, they have returned to indicate precise trends, tastes, motifs: from western to passionate drama, from sophisticated comedy to exotic adventure, from detective to science fiction, from the so-called c. civilian and political comedian. Although some mixes, interferences, contaminations, associations still remain, as in the eighties, the genres are again identifiable as such, with their content and formal characteristics. This means the reconquest of production models that had made c. Hollywood, and also the repetition of formulas - dramatic situations, characters, narrative developments, scenic locations etc. - which still seemed to be successful in terms of world competition.
Of the directors who had established themselves during the seventies - R. Altman, B. Rafelson, F. Ford Coppola, G. Lucas, S. Spielberg, M. Cimino, B. De Palma, J. Carpenter, M. Scorsese, J. Ivory, C. Eastwood, W. Allen, M. Brooks and others - and those who established themselves in the following decade - R. Scott, D. Lynch, L. Kasdan, O. Stone, T. Burton, R. Zemeckis, S. Seidelman, J. Jarmush, S. Lee, brothers J. and E. Coen, A. Ferrara, J. McNaughton, J. Jost, J. Sayles, A. Poe and others -, most have continued his career with considerable critical and public success.
On these directors and their works c. American has been able to build a spectacular structure of great impact. And if Lucas remained on the sidelines, renouncing to direct films to deal with production and high technology, and Rafelson, Carpenter, Seidelman, Kasdan, Brooks, Poe seemed less interesting and proactive, there is no doubt that, even during the nineties, the directors mentioned confirmed that they were among the most significant authors of c. contemporary. Think of Altman's great historical-musical fresco Kansas City ( 1996 ), in which minute observation of the facts and environmental reconstruction are combined in an apparently fragmented structure according to the model of The player ( 1992 ;The protagonists ) and Prêt-à-porter ( 1994 ). Think of reading Gothic-fantastic and existential key, with heartbreaking melancholy veins, which Coppola has made in Stoker's novel in Bram Stoker's Dracula ( 1992 ; Bram Stoker's Dracula ). But also think of Spielberg 's Schindler's list ( 1993 ), who, leaving the themes and ways of his sci-fi and adventurous films for the moment, has addressed a tragic topic such as that of the Nazi death camps with a great sense of measure and strong dramatic impact, and then return to the great prehistoric and fantastic show of The last world (1997 ; The Lost World ) and again deal with the WWII drama with Saving Private Ryan ( 1998 ; Save Soldier Ryan ).
As for Cimino, whose The deep hunter ( 1978 ; The hunter ) had marked a fundamental stage in c. American and the subsequent Heaven's gate ( 1980 ; I cancelli del cielo ) had been massacred from production until distorting it (although it probably remains his masterpiece, in the full version), he returned to impose himself on the attention of critics and the public with Sunchaser ( 1996 ; Towards the sun), long journey in search of a purpose to give to one's existence, in which spirit of adventure, historical reminiscences, environmental discoveries, memory of an autochthonous culture, constitute the elements of a fascinating discourse.
De Palma, partly referring to his composite style and to the taste of the quote, partly renewing himself in the themes and ways, in 1993 made a highly dramatic film, Carlito's way , all tense in the representation of an existential crisis, only to return with Mission: impossible ( 1996 ) to his usual correct and vigorous profession, but a little way. For his part, Scorsese, confirming himself as one of the best American directors of the last three decades, after the refined, elegant filmic interpretation of E. Wharton's novel, The age of innocence ( 1993 ; The age of innocence ), took up the motifs and the forms of his c. more personal withCasino ( 1996 ), a historical-social fresco of the corrupt world of gaming in Las Vegas, in which characters and environment seem to merge in a representation that borders on virtuosity at certain moments. Even Eastwood, after a series of western films or slightly recurrent and repetitive action films, has established himself, above all among critics and young audiences, as a director with a strong personality, as seen, for example, in Unforgiven ( 1992 ; Unforgiven ), A perfect world ( 1993 ; A perfect world ), absolute power ( 1996 ; absolute power). Ivory and Allen, on the other hand, seemed a little closed in their world, even if some of their films of the nineties showed an undoubted strength of style: think of Ivory's The remains of the day ( 1993 ; What remains of the day ) , from the novel by K. Ishiguro, and Mighty Aphrodite ( 1995 ; The goddess of love ) by Allen, which was followed by Everyone says I love you ( 1996 ; Everyone says I love you ) and Deconstructing Harry ( 1997 ; Harry in pieces ).
If Scott, after the fascinating double female portrait of Thelma & Louise ( 1991 ), in which action and contestation, spirit of adventure and existential uncertainty give life to a representation of great spectacular fluency, has remained a little on the margins of the new c. American, Lynch, on the other hand, after the television serial Twin Peaks and the resulting film, Twin Peaks: fire walks with me ( 1992 ; Fire walks with me ), works a bit in a manner but, as always in Lynch, rather disturbing, he returned with Lost highway ( 1996 ; Lost roads) to the themes and ways of his c. stylistically complex, problematic, disturbing and provocative, with remarkable results. For his part, Stone, a prolific and discontinuous director, achieved great public and critical success with Natural born killers ( 1994 ; Assassini nati ) who, based on a subject by Q. Tarantino (see below), dealt with strong incisiveness the theme of free violence in contemporary society.
On the side of a c. fantastic, sometimes phantasmagoric, or imbued with fabulous elements, open to the suggestions of dreams, new technologies and special effects, both Burton and Zemeckis have moved: the first with an unconventional invoice film, in which the taste for the show is combines with irony, from Batman ( 1989 ) and Edward Scissorhands ( 1990 ; Edward Scissorhands ) to Batman returns ( 1992 ; Batman - The return ) and Mars attacks! ( 1996 ); the second with some works of great spectacular suggestion, from the Back to the future series( Back to the future ), whose first episode is from 1985 , to the amusing Who framed Roger Rabbit ( 1988 ; Chi frastrato Roger Rabbit ), to the comedian-moving Forrest Gump ( 1994 ), up to Contact ( 1997 ).
But it is perhaps on the contribution of more independent directors, a little outside the big commercial circuits, that c. American of the nineties has built a good part of his new patrimony of ideas and proposals: directors sometimes coming from the c. underground , other times from documentary films or from peripheral areas. A c., Theirs, which does not renounce the needs of popular entertainment, but often enters more personal, autobiographical elements into it, that is, it tries new ways by addressing more selected audiences.
Think of an author like Jarmush, certainly the best known among the directors of the so-called New Wave of New York. After his first films of the eighties - among which Down by law ( 1986 ; Daunbailò ) stands out , if only for the international success he met with the young audience - he has signed at least a couple of works of great expressive intensity, united a subtle caustic spirit and a melancholy humor, such as Mystery train ( 1989 ) and Dead man ( 1995 ). Think also of Lee, debutant in the mid-eighties with She's gotta have it ( 1986 ;Lola darling ), director with a strong social impact, careful to document the life of blacks in America in unusual ways and forms, mixing provocation and comedy, political discourse and taste of the paradox: e.g. in Do the right thing ( in 1989 ; It is' the right thing ), in Jungle Fever ( 1991 ), in Crooklyn ( 1994 ), in Girl 6 ( 1996 ; a Model 6. Sex Online ), in He Got Game ( 1998 ) not to mention the biographical film Malcom X ( 1992 ), more explicitly political.
Also the contribution of other directors such as the brothers Coen, Ferrara, McNaughton, Jost, Sayles, or the younger S. Soderbergh, W. Wang, G. Araki, R. Rodriguez, L. Clarks, K. Smith, H. Hartley and especially the aforementioned Tarantino, was instrumental in creating the new image of c. American: young, dynamic, aggressive, unprejudiced, like the public to whom it is addressed.
At least the Raising Arizona ( 1987 ; Arizona junior ), Barton Fink ( 1991 ), The hudsucker proxy ( 1994 ; Mister Hula Hoop ), Fargo ( 1996 ), The big Lebowski ( 1998 ; The big Lebowski ), which make up a multifaceted and perspective picture of certain aspects of contemporary American mentality. Of Ferrara, the peculiarity of a violent style that gives strength to violent themes and subjects, such as Bad lieutenant ( 1992); Bad Lieutenant ), Snake Eyes ( 1993 , Snake Eyes ), The Funeral ( 1996 ; Brothers ), Blackout ( 1997 ). A style that is also proper to McNaughton, at least in Henry. Portrait of a serial killer ( 1986 ; Henry. Rain of blood ), far more tense and provocative than the subsequent Mad Dog and Glory ( 1993 ; The cop, the boss and the blonde ), which has the tones of comedy; he then directed the thriller Wild things ( 1998; Sex crimes - dangerous games ). Both Jost and Sayles seem to follow their own paths a little on the edge of c. spectacular. For example. the refined works of the former, such as All the Vermeers in New York ( 1990 ; All Vermeers of New York ) or the cruder works of the latter, such as City of Hope ( 1991 ) and Lone Star ( 1996 ; Solitary Star ). As for Soderbergh, his Sex, lies and videotape cannot be ignored ( 1989 ; Sex, lies and videotape), Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, a fun film about two more or less well-matched couples. And at least some films by Araki ( Doom generation , 1995 ), Rodriguez ( Desperado , 1995 ), Clarks ( Kids , 1995 ), Smith ( Clerks, 1994 ; Commessi ) and above all Wang and Hartley deserve a mention . The first, born in Hong Kong but residing in the United States, is the author of Eat a bowl of tea ( 1989 ) and Smoke ( 1994), two 'New York' films, in which careful observation of social behavior and genuine humor create very pleasant environmental situations. The second has produced Trust ( 1990 ), Simple men ( 1992 ; Men simple ), Amateur ( 1994 ) and Henry's Fool ( 1998 ), which seem to melt some style to Godard with an inquiring spirit, light and subtly disturbing.
But the American director who can be considered the very symbol of the new Hollywood of the nineties, and who in some way represented a new fashion, even a school, to which not a few young and old authors have drawn, both directors and screenwriters, it is certainly Tarantino, who, with the 'triptych' Reservoir dogs ( 1992 ; Le iene ), Pulp fiction ( 1994 ), Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, and Jackie Brown ( 1997) created a c. who knows how to cleverly mix violence and adventure, humor and drama, cruel representation of reality and taste of the sneer. A c., His, which fascinates and disturbs, and the show seems to involve the viewer so much that it does not leave room for reflection.
Faced with this new model, directors like Ang Lee ( Sense and sensibility , in 1996 , Sense and Sensibility , The Ice Storm , 1997 , The Ice Storm ), B. Singer ( The usual suspects , 1995 ; The Usual Suspects ), G. Van Sant ( Drugstore Cow Boy , 1989 ; My own private Idaho , 1991 , Belli e damati ); To die for , 1995 , To die for ; Good Will Hunting , 1998 ,Will Hunting - Rebel genius ), K. Bigelow ( Point Break, 1991 ; Strange days , 1995 ) are likely to remain marginalized, despite the fact that their films confirm, in the variety of proposals and styles, the fertility of a film that continues to dominate the global market. As confirmed by the isolated cases of Evita ( 1996 ) by A. Parker, of The people vs. Larry Flynt ( 1996 ; Larry Flynt ) by M. Forman, by Cold comfort farm ( 1996 ) by J. Schlesinger, by Looking for Richard ( 1996 ; Riccardoiii - A man a king ) by Al Pacino, which marks the debut as director of the American actor. All examples of a production that has managed to maintain a solid relationship with the public without renouncing the reasons of art and culture.
In front of the massive presence of c. American in the international panorama, the situation of European cinemas is somewhat critical, although some of them - in particular French, English and, partially, Italian - have shown signs of stability or recovery. However, it should be underlined that the US production, often based, as we have seen, on the big shows with the more or less explicit contribution of the new technologies, has somehow oriented the production of the other countries, not only European ones, towards different spectacular models, certainly less grandiose and grandiloquent, but, sometimes, deeper and more involving. In the sense that, outside the boundaries of c. of high consumption, fashionable, aimed in particular at new youth audiences, somewhat approved in most countries, continues to exist, indeed to develop, a c. more attentive to daily life, to everyday problems, to the concrete situation of men and women, often young, grappling with the problems of existence: a c. that we can define more realistic, even more political, as more attentive to the phenomenal reality and the historical moment; even less metaphorical for the fact that characters and environments are more explicitly and directly comparable with people and places of contemporary living in different social situations. So there was a certain recovery of the old models born from Italian neorealism, from existence: a c. that we can define more realistic, even more political, as more attentive to the phenomenal reality and the historical moment; even less metaphorical for the fact that characters and environments are more explicitly and directly comparable with people and places of contemporary living in different social situations. So there was a certain recovery of the old models born from Italian neorealism, from existence: a c. that we can define more realistic, even more political, as more attentive to the phenomenal reality and the historical moment; even less metaphorical for the fact that characters and environments are more explicitly and directly comparable with people and places of contemporary living in different social situations. So there was a certain recovery of the old models born from Italian neorealism, fromFrench nouvelle vague , from English free cinema , perhaps adapted and updated on today's reality: models that favor the so-called c. of reality compared to the so-called c. image.
In Italy this movement, which some wanted to define neo-neorealism , had a distinguished representative in G. Amelio, author of Il ladro di bambini ( 1992 ) and Lamerica ( 1994 ), a film of great dramatic and documentary relevance on the situation of Albania in a time of profound economic, social and political crisis, in which the minute observation of reality is combined with a speech with a strong political impact. On a more personal and intimate side, and yet also indebted to the great lesson of R. Rossellini, there is the work of N. Moretti, author in 1993 of Caro diario, a film in three episodes markedly autobiographical, and in 1998 in April , also autobiographical, which continue the path taken by the director since 1977 with Io sono un autarchico . Other directors also move in an area of analysis of reality and expressive research which, despite the different trend lines and the different results achieved, can be defined as realistic or neorealistic . Let's think of S. Soldini ( The serene air of the West , 1990 ; A soul divided in two , 1993 ; The acrobats, 1997 ), to C. Mazzacurati (Another life , 1992 ; The bull , 1994 ; Vesna goes fast , 1996 ), to G. Salvatores ( Mediterranean , 1991 ; South , 1993 ), who however in 1996 also attempted the science fiction genre with Nirvana , to G. Tornatore ( The man of the stars , 1995 ; The legend of the pianist on the ocean , 1998 ), to P. Corsicato ( Libera , 1993 ; I buchi neri , 1995), to MT Giordana ( Pasolini, an Italian crime , 1995 ), to F. Archibugi ( Il grande cocomero , 1993 ; With closed eyes , 1994 ; The tree of pears , 1998 ), to M. Calopresti ( The second time , 1995 ; The word love exists , 1998 ) and W. Labate ( My generation , 1996 ), but also to the personal, complex and multifaceted work of M. Martone, from Death of a Neapolitan mathematician ( 1992 ) to L'amore harassing (1995 ), at the War Theater ( 1998 ) and the strong, aggressive and controversial film by A. Capuano, Pianese Nunzio, 14 years old in May ( 1996 ).
The most recent works by important directors such as M. Antonioni, B. Bertolucci, P. Avati, C. Lizzani are placed in a different context, less indebted to new trends and more tied to the personal poetics of the authors or already consolidated film models. M. Monicelli, P. and V. Taviani, M. Ferreri, F. Rosi, M. Bellocchio, R. Faenza, S. Citti, F. Piavoli and others, differently engaged in a c. research or entertainment, civil commitment or literary system. Also noteworthy are the directors-actors of the new Italian comedy, from C. Verdone ( Honeymoons , 1995 ; Gallo cedrone , 1998 ) to R. Benigni ( La vita è bella , 1997 , winner of three Oscar awards), from M Nichetti (Luna and the other , 1996 ) to A. Benvenuti ( Ivo il tardivo , 1995 ; Return to the Gori home , 1996 ), to L. Pieraccioni ( Il cyclone , 1996 ; Fireworks , 1997 ), who continued on the road of a comedy attentive to changes in customs and the Italian environmental situation of the nineties. Comedy that was instead brought to provocative excess, which overturned its good-natured component in a violent social satire, aggressive and stylistically unpublished, by the couple D. Ciprì and F. Maresco with their iconoclastic The Uncle of Brooklyn ( 1995) and Toto who lived twice ( 1998 ).
With the technical support of Wim Wenders, Antonioni achieved in 1995 at the Beyond the Clouds , an episodic great formal appeal films, where his favorite themes, characters and lonely in an existential crisis, the rarefied environments and evanescent stories, have found the right tones of his most personal films of the sixties and seventies. Bertolucci, after major international productions, has returned to a more modest but certainly more intense and engaging spectacular dimension, in Io ballo da sola ( 1996 ) and The siege ( 1998). Avati continued on the path of c. somewhat personal, outside the usual canons of c. Italian, with films that are not always convincing, but certainly significant, such as L'arcano incantatore ( 1996 ) and Il testimone dello Bridegroom ( 1998 ). Lizzani, for its part, has made an interesting historical film-document, Celluloide ( 1995 ), based on the book of the same name by U. Pirro, which describes the birth of Rome as an open city . Monicelli, with Faremo paradiso ( 1995 ), returned to the generational fresco, but with questionable results. The Taviani brothers are more coherent and stylistically refined withThe elective affinities ( 1996 ), from Goethe's novel of the same name, in which, however, environments and characters seem closed in a calibrated stylistic dimension, a little manner; literary (Pirandello) is also the matrix of You laugh ( 1998 ). As for Ferreri, his latest film, Nitrato d'Argento ( 1996 ), despite its seemingly sloppy workmanship, is at the same time a tribute to the hundred years of c. and a critical reinterpretation of it, a filmic game and the bitter analysis of a society in crisis. Rosi appeared more traditional and with a certain rhetoric in La trgua ( 1997), a cinematographic transcription of the work of P. Levi, however, does not lack moments of intense drama. Where Faenza, in his filmic interpretations of two literary texts such as Sosegue Pereira by A. Tabucchi and Marianna Ucrìa by D. Maraini - respectively in the films of the same name in 1995 and 1996 -, demonstrated a good technical and formal mastery; and Bellocchio, in The Prince of Homburg ( 1997 ) based on the text by H. von Kleist, has been able to combine fidelity to the original with a personal dramatic vision, all kept on the nocturnal and melancholic tones of a representation traversed by lacerating flashes. The latter director subsequently directedThe wet nurse ( 1999 ), film based on a short story by Pirandello.
Finally, in a secluded position but full of aesthetic perspectives, delimited by personal poetics and personal stylistic research, the films of Citti and Piavoli are placed. The first is the author of a delicate fairy tale for adults, I magi stray ( 1996 ), in which the director's habitual style supports a dreamy vision of places and characters of popular tradition; the second directed Voices in time ( 1996 ), which with the precedents The blue planet ( 1982 ) and Nostos, the return ( 1989) composes a sort of trilogy on man and nature between the lyrical and the dramatic, in which things, the landscape, men arrange themselves on the screen as images of time, emblems of a reality that seems to have found its meaning more deep. Directors, works, contents and different styles that testify to a substantial recovery of c. Italian after a long period of crisis, above all of ideas, which marked the eighties, dominated by a production that was sometimes run, without links with reality, repetitive and often unable to establish an active and participatory relationship with the public.
In France the lesson and tradition of the nouvelle vague continued to influence c. of the new generations. On the one hand the directors who had established themselves in the sixties - from C. Chabrol to J.-L. Godard, from J. Rivette to E. Rohmer, from L. Malle to A. Resnais to A. Varda - have remained almost all very active, perhaps updating their style, and obviously the contents of their works, but substantially maintaining the ways and forms of their c., thus creating a sort of supporting structure of the entire film production. On the other, the beginners of the eighties and nineties, despite the diversity of their approaches to reality and film language and the difference in artistic results, have often referred to those characters of the nouvelle vaguewhich can be summarized in a great formal freedom, in a speech most of the time autobiographical, in a countertrend with respect to the traditional show. If the economic and commercial situation of the c. French - and more generally than Europe and beyond - was affected by the strong competition from c. American, consequently reducing the number of films produced, it should be emphasized that, unlike other countries (think of Germany, as well as the former socialist countries), France has been able to react by maintaining its own model of cinema show, even popular and a large audience, which often proved successful.
Of the 'masters' of c. contemporary French, the most restless and unconventional, Godard, continued in his independent research work, making Hélas pour moi in 1993 , a film about love that opens up to the most varied poetic and philosophical suggestions, in 1996 Mozart forever , and planning a history of cinema for 'self-propelled' images, Histoire (s) du cinéma , of which some chapters have been published. In some respects Chabrol remained the most faithful to the poetry of his beginnings: that bourgeois and petty-bourgeois world of his, crossed by conflicts and passions, hatreds and loves, which he was able to grasp and represent with an incisive and veined style of one. subtle cruelty.1988 ; A affair of women ) and La cérémonie ( 1995 ; The dark in the mind ), a sort of diptych on the situation of women in a misogynist society and crossed by deep social and cultural divisions, in which violence manifests itself through sudden explosions of hatred and revenge. Certainly more successful and convincing films than Madame Bovary ( 1991 ), a slightly frayed and bite-free reinterpretation of Flaubert's masterpiece.
As for Rohmer, he continued his path as a careful and curious investigator of the daily life of adolescents and young people in a series of films that do not differ from the model of that 'cinema of the word' of which he was the initiator, with risk of a certain repetition of stories, environments and characters. See Conte de printemps ( 1990 ; Spring tale ), Conte d'hiver ( 1992 ; Winter tale ), Conte d'été ( 1996 ; A boy and three girls ... ), Conte d'automne ( 1998 ; Autumn story), which is partly opposed, for a different political and social approach to contemporary French reality, L'arbre, le maire et la médiathèque ( 1993 ; The tree, the mayor and the media library ). Rivette, for its part, addressed the great historical and biographical theme of Jeanne la Pucelle ( 1994 ; Giovanna d'Arco , part i and ii ) with surprising results, in the successful attempt to reconstruct an environment, a character, a story, while maintaining faithful to the facts and making them current through a 'Rossellinian' style that captures the most genuine aspects of reality. A style that is also present in Haut bas Fragile ( 1995 ; Alto Basso Fragile ), three stories of today's girls, treated with a light and amused touch and with great psychological acumen. Malle faced, with Damage ( 1992 ; The damage ), an erotic and passionate drama of strong dramatic tension, confirming himself as a director of great style, but he also made a fascinating documentary between fiction and reality, Vanya on 42nd street ( 1994 ; Vanja on 42 on the street), in which daily life and theater, rehearsals of actors and staging are mixed in a suggestive show. Resnais returned to the intellectual and stylistic game of many of his previous films with the diptych Smoking / No smoking ( 1994 ), based on an absurd and repetitive comedy by A. Ayckbourn, in which the parts are turned upside down in environmental situations which are also continuously modified. A different stylistic game, inspired by the musical films in vogue in the sixties, the so-called 'musicarelli', characterized the subsequent On connaît la chanson ( 1998 ; Words , words , words). Finally Varda, a year after the death of her husband J. Demy, wanted to dedicate a film to him, Jacquot de Nantes ( 1991 ; Garage Demy ), a tender and affectionate reconstruction of her childhood and adolescence.
Among other French directors, already established, P. Vecchiali, B. Tavernier, A. Cavalier and, in a particular research sector, J. Rouch deserve a mention: their films continue a tradition of seriousness and commitment, which has constituted for decades the cornerstone of film production beyond the Alps. At least a mention of Vecchiali deserve Rosa la Rose, fille publique ( 1986 ; Una donna per tutti ) and Encore-Once more ( 1988 ; Once more-Ancora ), a strong drama of homosexuality. By Tavernier The Appât ( 1995 ; L'esca ), on youth discomfort. Di Cavalier the rigorous and essentialFree me ( 1993 ), which is a courageous appeal against violence and abuse. Lastly, of Rouch, who was the promoter and the most valid representative of the cinéma vérité , the continuous research on the field and the passage from the anthropological interests that characterized his first films to a lighter and more curious observation of reality in particular situations should be noted. as seen also in Madame l'eau ( 1994 ). R. Guédiguian should be considered separately, from Dernier été ( 1980 ) to Marius et Jeannette ( 1997), went on composing, from film to film, a mosaic of Marseilles popular life, drawing in equal measure on c. French of the thirties and to some models of the comedy of costume.
As for the new generations of directors, L. Besson ( Léon , 1994 ; Le cinquième élément , 1997 , The fifth element ), O. Assayas ( L'eau froide , 1994 ; Irma Vep , 1996 ), A. Téchiné ( Les roseaux sauvages , 1994 ; The immature age ), J. Doillon ( Les petit criminel , 1990 ), C. Collard, who died in 1993 ( Les nuits fauves , 1992 ; Wild nights ), M. Kassovitz (La haine , 1995 , Hate ; Assassin (s) , 1997 ) and many others, among which C. Devers, C. Denis, L. Carax, J.-J. Beineix and the veteran R. Depardon ( Le captive du désert , 1990 ), who continues his personal stylistic research.
In Britain and Ireland in the 1990s, c. it has taken on a role of considerable significance, not only because some new directors have also established themselves internationally, but above all because the themes and subjects dealt with are most often linked to the political and social situation, of which contradictions are highlighted and contrasts.
For example. the work of S. Frears, a careful observer of the life of ordinary people ( The snappers , 1993 ; The van , 1996 , Due sulla strada ) or that of M. Winterbotton ( Family , 1993 ; Butterfly Kiss , 1995 ; Jude , 1996 ; Welcome to Sarajevo , 1997 , Welcome to Sarajevo ), even more radical in describing the difficult conditions of the subordinate classes. Or certain films by K. Loach ( Raining stones , 1993 , Raining stones; Ladybird, ladybird , 1994 ), produced before the author was interested in more explicit historical and political arguments ( Land and Freedom , 1995 , Land and Freedom , Carla's Song , 1996 , Carla's Song ), and that reflect a critical view and problematic of reality, representing it with a passionate realism. Realism that we find in P. Cattaneo ( Full monty , 1998 ; Full monty - organized penniless ), in N. Jordan, author of a combative Michael Collins ( 1996) and, in different ways and forms, in M. Leigh , an eclectic but very interesting director ( Naked , 1993 ; Secrets and lies , 1996 , Secrets and lies ). Realism that instead is charged with provocative values, with questionable effects, in D. Boyle's Trainspotting ( 1996 ), which has caused scandal.
Alongside this production that addresses social and political issues there is also a c. more traditional, often of theatrical derivation, which sees in K. Branagh one of the most popular authors, both for his transcriptions from Shakespeare ( Much ado about nothing , 1993 , Much Ado About Nothing ; Hamlet , 1997 ), and for some of his spectacular inroads in other sectors ( Mary Shelley's Frankenstein , 1994 , Mary Shelley's Frankenstein , in the bleak midwinter , 1995 , in the middle of a freezing winter ). But in the context of c. Shakespearean a mention deservesRichard iii ( 1996 ; Riccardo iii ) by R. Loncraine, one of the most remarkable results in this field. Finally, the works of D. Jarman ( Wittgenstein , 1993 ; Blue , 1993 ), and of P. Greenaway ( The baby of Mâcon , 1993 ; The pillow book , 1995 , The Pillow Tales ) are very fascinating .
In the face of the liveliness of c. French, English, partly also Italian, c. German, after the great season of the Junger Deutscher Film , has gradually run out for a number of reasons, both economic and political. Not even the unification of the two Germanies ( 1990 ) has allowed a resumption of film production; indeed it was, at least in part, one of the causes of its decline.
Isolated authors such as W. Schroeter ( Malina , 1991 ) or HJ Syberberg ( Fräulein Else, 1987 ; Ein Traum, was sonst , 1994 ) have continued to work between mixed fortunes; others, such as M. von Trotta or V. Schlöndorf, have lost their original strength and made films of little value; few others, such as E. Reitz, have achieved wide public and critical success with complex and historical films ( Heimat - Eine Chronik in elf Teilen , 1984 , Heimat ; Die zweite Heimat - Chronik einer Jugend , 1992 , Heimat 2. Chronicle of a youth); others finally, such as W. Herzog, have been silent for some time (after the partial failure of Schrei aus Stein , 1991 , Stone Cry ). It remained W. Wenders, international director, author of some of the great film visual appeal and complex formal structure ( In weiter Ferne, so nah! , 1993 , Faraway, so close , Lisbon Story , 1995 ; The End of Violence , 1997 , Invisible crimes ), which however risk falling into the mannerisms of the author.
The situation in other European countries appears basically stationary. In the former socialist countries, such as Poland - in which A. Wajda is still active - and Hungary - in which M. Jancsó has been silent for years - film production seems somewhat marginal both in terms of quantity and quality. In Sweden - after the great season of c. by I. Bergman - the director who stood out internationally is B. August. In Belgium and the Netherlands, apart from a few attempts at renewal, there are no signs of real novelty. Rather, it is worth mentioning the significant and often original works of some European authors, who have established themselves internationally in recent years.
As, for example, the Spanish P. Almodóvar, who also in his most recent films ( La flor de mi secreto , 1995 , The flower of my secret ; Carne trémula , 1997 ) confirms the originality of his style and the strength of the his iconoclastic spirit. Or the Portuguese M. de Oliveira, who continues his speech on the past and the present, the historical memory and the destiny of man, with surprising artistic results ( O convento , 1995 , The mysteries of the convent ; Viagem ao principle do mundo , 1997 , Journey to the beginning of the world). Or the Bosnian E. Kusturica, author of films with a strong formal impact and no less controversial charge such as Underground ( 1995 ). Or the Greek Th. Anghelopulos, whose stylistic rigor is combined with a careful observation of the chronicle and history ( To vlemma tou Odyssea , 1995 , The gaze of Ulysses ; Mia eoniotita ke mia mera , 1998 , Eternity is a day ). To keep quiet from the always interesting work of directors such as the Finnish A. Kaurismäki ( Scènes de la vie de Bohème , 1991 , Vita di bohème ; Kaus pilvet karkaavat ,1997 , Nuvole in viaggio ), the Romanian L. Pintilie ( Un été inoubliable , 1994 ; An unforgettable summer ), the Turkish O. Kavur ( Akrebin yolculugu , 1997 ; The clock tower ), the Americanized Polish R. Polanski ( Death and the Maiden , 1994 ; Death and the Maiden ). But perhaps the biggest news comes from young directors such as Lithuanian Sh. Bartas ( Few of us , 1996, Far from God and men ; The house , 1997 ) or the Danish L. von Trier (Breaking the waves , 1996 ; The waves of destiny ), in which formal research and a spirit of observation are combined, giving rise to films of extraordinary visual impact.
Outside Europe, the cinematographic panorama, which during the seventies and eighties had been enriched with the decisive contribution of the countries of Africa and the Far East, seemed, at the turn of the millennium, to fall back a bit on itself. itself, for a variety of reasons - political, economic, social etc. - which cannot be dealt with here.
In Egypt the most significant figure still remains Y. Chahin, a prolific good-trade director ( al-Maṣīr , 1997 ; Destiny ), while in other Arab countries (such as Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco) the situation is undoubtedly critical, like that of c. of black Africa (Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso etc.), after a period of great vitality: if valuable directors such as I. Oeudraogo ( Kini & Adams , 1997 ) or G. Kaboré ( Buund-Yam , 1997 ) continue to work, others have been silent for some time and the youngest find many difficulties in establishing themselves.
The case of Iran is different, however, in which, despite a difficult political climate, a major film production has developed and a great author such as A. Kiarostami, whose films - from H̠āne-ye dust koǧast? ( 1987 ; Where is my friend's house? ) In Nemā-ye nazdīk ( 1990 ; Close up-Close up ), from Zendegī edāme dārad ( 1992 ; And life goes on ) in Zīr-e darah̠tān-e zaytūn ( 1994 ; Through the olive trees) - simultaneously develop a discourse on c. and on reality, with a linearity of style and a depth of thought of rare effectiveness. Effectiveness that is also found in a pupil of Kiarostami, Mohsen Makhmalbaf ( Rūzī rūzegārī sīnemā , 1992 , Once upon a time there was cinema; Salaam cinema , 1995 ; Gabbeh , 1995 ; Nūn o goldūn, 1996 , Bread and flower ), less rigorous , more eclectic, but very lively in describing certain aspects of today's Iranian society.
In Canada and New Zealand the internationally known directors are still, respectively, D. Cronenberg ( Crash , 1996 ) and J. Campion ( Portrait of a lady , 1996 ; Portrait of a lady ); however, there are signs of novelty that make us hope for a recovery and a development of those cinemas: it would be enough to quote the original work of the Canadian A. Egoyan ( Calendar , 1993 ; Exotica , 1994 ; The sweet hereafter , 1997 , Il dolce tomorrow). In the Far East, c. it is still dominated, qualitatively, by the Chinese production and, in part, by the Japanese one.
Especially in China, during the eighties and nineties, a new generation of directors was formed, whose main exponents are Chen Kaige ( Bian zou bian chang , 1991 , Life hanging by a thread ; Bawang bieji , 1993 , Goodbye my concubine ) and Zhang Yimou ( Ju Dou , 1990 ; Dahong denglong gaogao gua , 1991 , the red Lantern ; Qiu Ju da guangsi , 1992 , the story of Qiu Ju ; Huozhe , 1994 , to Live ;Keep cool , 1997 ): two highly sensitive authors, meticulous descriptors of environments and places in China of yesterday and today, sometimes refined poets, sometimes full-bodied narrators. At their side, but also in contrast to their poetics, young directors have moved, such as the controversial Zhang Yuan ( Dond gong xi gong , 1996 ; Oriental palace, western palace), who try to tackle topical issues and problems. , often colliding with censorship.
Also in Taiwan and Hong Kong (before returning to China in 1997 ) a conspicuous cinematographic production has developed, which alternates spectacular films, of an adventurous or violent genre, with more discreet, intimate films, such as those of the great director Hou Xiaoxian ( Beiqing chengshi , 1989 , Mourning City, Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival; Hsimeng rensheng , 1993 , The puppet master). Also from Taiwan come the films of Edward Yang ( Duli shidai , 1994 , A Confucian confusion), Tsai Ming-Liang ( Aiqing wansui , 1994 , Vive amour ;The hole , 1998 , The hole ), by Ang Lee ( Xiyan , 1993 , The wedding banquet ; Yinshi nan nu , 1994 , Eating drinking man woman ), who then moved to the United States. From Hong Kong, on the other hand, the adventurous and phantasmagoric films of Tsui Hark ( Dao ma dan , 1986 , Peking Opera Blues ; Once upon a time in China: i , 1991 ; ii , 1992 ; iii , 1993 ; iv ,1994 ; Tri-Star , 1996 ), by his pupil J. Woo ( A better tomorrow: i , 1986 ; ii , 1987 ; The killer , 1989 ; Hard boiled , 1992 ; Hard target , 1993 , Without respite ; Broken arrow , 1995 , Name in code: Broken arrow ; Face off , 1997 ), by Wong Kar-wai, avid experimenter and careful observer of the complex reality of his country (Days of being wild , 1991 ; Ashes of time , 1994 ; Chonquin senlin , 1995 , Hong Kong Express ; Duoluo tianshi , 1995 , Lost Angels ; Happy together , 1997 ), but also the works Allen Fong (Fang Yuping), by Ann Hui, by Clara Law.
As for Japan, apart from the work of Akira Kurosawa ( Madadayo , 1993 ; Madadayo - The birthday ), the film production, after the great season of the sixties and seventies, dominated by Nagisa Oshima, has gradually waned, with poor artistic results. Among the old masters or directors already established, a mention deserves Shohei Imamura ( Unagi , 1996 ; L'anguilla) and Kei Kumai ( Sen no Rikyu , 1989 ; Death of a tea master, awarded at the Venice Film Festival); Takeshi Kitano occupies a prominent position among the new directors, who knows how to explore contemporary reality, violent and incomprehensible, with a lucid gaze and a very rigorous style ( Ano natsu, ichiban shizukawa umi , 1991 , Silenzio sul mare; Sonatine , 1993 ; Hana-bi , 1997 ). But interesting are also the films of Sogo Ishii, Takashi Ishii, and other young people who, in part outside the tradition of c. Japanese, they try their own way in the analysis and representation of violence in contemporary reality.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
G. Rondolino, History of cinema , 3 vols., Turin 1977 ( 4 vols., 1995³ ).
J. Orr , Cinema and modernity , Cambridge-Cambridge (Mass.) 1993.
American Movies 90 , edited by M. Benigni, F. Paracchini, Milan 1994.
Cinema yearbook. Season 1993-94 , edited by G. De Marinis, Bergamo 1994.
M. Sesti, New Italian cinema. The authors, the films, the ideas , Rome-Naples 1994.
Cinema yearbook. Season 1994-95, edited by G . De Marinis, Bergamo 1995.
Cinema yearbook. Season 1995-96 , edited by G. De Marinis, Bergamo 1996.
I. Bakari, M. Cham, African experiences of cinema , London 1996.
J. Caughie, K. Rockett, The companion to British and Irish cinema , London 1996.
Dictionary of films , edited by P. Mereghetti, Milan 1996.
Fury: le cinéma d'action contemporain , Aix-en-Provence 1996.
K. Khayati, Cinémas arabes. Topographie d'une image éclatée , Paris 1996.
G. Nowell-Smith, J. Hay, G. Volpi, The companion to Italian cinema , London 1996.
G. Rondolino, Historical Dictionary of Films , Turin 1996.
The Oxford history of world cinema , ed. G. Nowell-Smith, Oxford-New York 1996.
R. Umard, Film ohne Grenzen. Das neue Hong-Kong Kino , Lappersdorf 1996.
G. Vincendeau, The companion to French cinema , London 1996.
GA Nazzaro, A. Tagliacozzo, Hong Kong cinema. Swords, kung fu, pistols, ghosts , Genoa 1997 .
Technologic innovations
by Mario Calzini
Shooting and film edition
In the field of recovery, some innovations have been perfected in recent years. Certain types of color negative film have reached very high sensitivity without experiencing an excessive increase in graininess, thanks to the introduction of the halide laminar crystal technology. At the same time the negatives of normal sensitivity have gained in definition allowing to bring the most minute details of the image on the screen. The colors have acquired saturation and above all stability over time in order to ensure long life of the original characteristics of the image. Sensitive progress has been made in the field of objectives, both fixed and variable focus. The use of electronic off-line editing has expanded,
Special effects digitally . - The greatest progress has been made in the field of manipulation of the cinematographic image by electronic-digital means. To do this we used the technique called transparent transcription . It allows, through an electronic path including a computer, to reproduce on another negative all the details and colors of an original negative, creating a second perfectly equal to the first. If during the transcription new elements are introduced or the image is modified through the computer, special effects of a new type can be created, so as to introduce a particular new cinematographic genre.
The system is theoretically simple: a scanner explores each frame following many horizontal lines which are in turn divided into segments. Each segment represents the mosaic tile (tile that takes the name of pixel (= picture element ). Using a discrete scale of values ( digit), the color and density of each pixel can be represented in numerical form, and are recorded on the disk of an electronic processor. It is then possible, being numbers, to modify them in the computer at will in order to influence, pixel by pixel, the density, the color and the reciprocal position. You can replace them with the numbers of another pixel, intervene, in a word, on the image, reconstructing it to your liking, with only the limits of the operator's imagination. The result of this work, stored on one or more discs, can now be entered in a new frame, recording the computer-generated image on film. Thus, frame by frame, the scene containing the desired effect is constructed.
Of course, the picture is all the more defined the greater the number of tiles. Since the definition of a modern color negative is in the order of 120 lines per linear millimeter, a simple calculation leads us to foresee the need to scan at least 3000 lines, in order not to lose the vertical definition and record about 4000 elements along each line to maintain the horizontal definition of a 35mm cinema frame . You have to work on 3000 × 4000 = 12 . 000 . 000of pixels per frame. Even partially reducing the cards, to take into account the losses that can occur in the cinematographic process, going from negative to final positive, the number of bytes that must be recorded in the unit of time by the scanner and then reported on the film by the recorder is so high that it is unthinkable, with today's computer technology, to work in real time. With current machines, both scanning and registration each take an average of 5 seconds, the time to which the operator needs to be added for image intervention. Assuming that each frame requires an average work of 20 seconds, a scene of one meter ( 25 frames) will require an overall time of the order of tens of minutes: an undoubtedly long time, but used for short sequences.
At least two machines are now in use that allow the creation of special effects digitally: Kodak's Cineon and Quantel Domino , machines that require the use of powerful and fast electronic processors equipped with massive hard disk batteries to store the digital images.
To give an idea of the works that can be carried out with these machines, it should be remembered that they include the replacement of backgrounds with animated forefoot, as was done optically with blue back . Despite the apparent slowness of digital machines, the effect is obtained faster and more safely than optically. The machines allow to eliminate a disturbing element in the original frame or, on the contrary, to introduce in it objects obtained from other frames.
To these effects, television has accustomed us. One may wonder why television preceded cinema in this sector; it only depends on the number of cards required: the scanning of a television picture is done quickly. In this case, we are also dealing with less than 400 . 000 pixels / square, and you can operate in real time. The same operation is more difficult and much slower when dealing with about 12 million pixels / picture, as the cinematographic image requires.
The possibility of creating special effects that were previously unattainable has given rise to a new genre of films with a predominantly sci-fi content, which has met with a large public consensus, especially in the younger audience.
The new cinemas
In the seventies the figure of the classic cinema has gradually changed. The subtraction of spectators by television had so reduced the audience of the large rooms that often the seats occupied were not sufficient to make their management profitable. As the large cinemas no longer have any reason to exist, smaller spaces could find their place in their space, which would have given the operator many advantages: first of all, different films could be shown, attracting audiences of different tastes. The multiplex system(this was the name adopted) it would not have required the use of a greater number of people, having a single atrium, a single control at the entrance; moreover, the use of widely automated projection systems would have made the constant presence of the operator in each cabin unnecessary.
The classic architectural subdivision of the room is normally carried out by maintaining the stalls as the main room, separating the gallery from the stalls with a horizontal septum and dividing the gallery into two smaller rooms, with a partition in the center. If the venue also has a stage (as is often the case for large rooms), this space can also be transformed into one or two overlapping rooms. Of course, the intervention in an existing room requires the architect to use special precautions, because the rules for good vision and safety must be respected, as well as ensuring convenient access to each room. The room-to-room dividers must be acoustically insulating in order to prevent crosstalk between the various neighboring rooms.
The success of multiplexes has led to a further step: the construction of multiplexes. With this term we mean a multiplex equipped with numerous screens (even thirty). Generally built outside the urban perimeter (also to use cheaper soil) and designed specifically for a rational distribution of passages and cabins, the multiplex is not just a cinema complex: it is inserted in a large area that can contain restaurants , cafés, areas for dancing or playing, as well as a large and convenient parking area. Numerous multiplexes are operating in northern European countries and in the United States. Their success reversed the tendency to stay indoors to watch television, bringing people back to the public place. The first Italian multiplex was born in Melzo (Milan), while another important one ( 18screens) was born in Rome by Warner (Warner village) on the road that connects the city with the airport. It has the classic single American type cabin, Italian projectors with semi-automatic loading systems, large screens, amphitheater platforms.
The digital stereo sound for cinema
The success of the compact disc prompted the technicians of the c. to apply the digital system also to soundtracks. Having achieved, still with the analog system, a high degree of quality in stereo, it was necessary that the new digital sound was also stereo.
After some Canadian experiments, a large company, a manufacturer of sensitive materials, studied a film for the optical negative-sound that allowed to engrave and read areolas of the average diameter of 12 μ m, areolas that would have represented in the digital system as many bits. Since the classic soundtrack is wide 2 , 54 mm (= 2540 μ m), also considering a certain space of separation between bits and bits, on each of the transverse line system could be seated 2540 / 15 = 169 bits. To leave some redundancy, the number of bits / line was reduced to 150. Considering that in each mm of the soundtrack can be 1000 / 15 = 66 lines, it has a total of 150 × 66 = 9900 bits / mm column linear. Scrolling the film at standard speed ( 457 , 2 mm / s), 9900 × 457 , 2 = 4 would have passed in a second . 526 . 280 bits. Collected in 16- bit packets ( word ) , the sampling could be equal to 4 . 526 . 280 /16 = 283 . 892 words per second. Considering again a division into 5 sound channels, each digital channel was sampled at 283 . 892 / 5 = 56 . 578 samples per second, much more frequently than in the compact disc, where sampling reaches the frequency of 41 . 100 samples / second. This system was therefore able to have 5 channels of sound, each capable of reproducing 2¹⁶ = 65 . 536 sound levels. I 5channels were assigned one to the center of the screen, two to each of the two sides, the fourth and the fifth to the surround (ambient sound) stereophonic, while the subwoofer channel (special speaker also placed behind the screen and intended for bass reproduction frequencies) was derived from the two surround channels by filtering at 150 ÷ 200 Hz.
The first experiment confirmed the possibility of the film to record a digital sound of higher quality than that of the CD-ROM, but the system had many practical drawbacks: first of all a special film had to be used, from a single producer, but even more serious. it was the fact that, having only the digital column, the film could only be shown in the rooms equipped with the relative equipment. In fact, despite its undoubted merits, the system had little commercial success. The only major film made was Dick Tracy ( 1990 ).
Thus was born a compatible system , that is, that it can be used both in cinemas equipped for digital and in those not yet ready. The digital signals then left the classic position of the analog soundtrack, which remained in place, and found space in the form of packets between one perforation and the other (SRD system, Dolby Spectral Recording Digital ) To reduce the space destined for digital information without having to resort to a special film, it was possible to achieve data compression (in the ratio of about 18 : 1 ) by processing techniques using algorithms that canceled frequencies deemed superfluous or irrelevant on the basis of psychoacoustic studies.
Since competition leads to new solutions, but does not allow, at least at first, the creation of a unified standard, a group of industrialists turned to a second system called DTS ( Digital Theater System ), which is also very valid. It seemed like a step back, a return to the old vitaphone , but it wasn't. The sound was recorded on separate CD-ROM disks, which some signals placed on the edge of the analog optical column (which always remained in place) synchronized perfectly with the film. Only two disks were enough to contain all the sound of a film, even of considerable length.
In 1993 the film Last Action Hero uses the new SDDS ( Sony Dynamic Digital Sound ) sound system with 8 sound channels, instead of 5 , for two further groups of speakers, placed in the middle of the screen on both sides and evidently intended for very large screens, with base of over 20 meters, which are rising in large modern rooms. In the SDDS the digital soundtrack is placed at the two lateral edges of the film ( d in fig. 2 ) on two similar digital tracks, each made up of 6 tracks: 4tracks on each side constitute the stereo channels (respectively left and right), while the remaining 2 are related to the mixed backup of the 4 channels on the opposite edge, together with the various reference signals (signature, board numbers, emulsion numbers , key code etc.), to be used as a reserve, decoding them, only in case of need.
The simultaneous presence of three different systems obliges exhibitors to make substantial investments, but, in order to recover the public that television had eroded, many old rooms, and all new ones, have equipped themselves with at least two of the three systems.
The multiplex (and multiplex) system, with the large screen and digital stereophony, made c. a significant step forward, so much so that the public is returning to the premises where the attendance is increasing day by day. Whether this is a momentary or stable phenomenon will tell us the next few years, when even television will change to bring the viewer back to that hypothesized home screen that will be computer, interactive vision, virtual reality and very high definition.
The restoration of cinematographic works
The chemical-physical restoration
The cinematographic work is unfortunately recorded on an easily perishable material. It is estimated that everything that was filmed in the entire period of c. dumb only 20 % is available for viewing today : all the rest has been irretrievably lost. This is due to the fact that in the early days the authors themselves did not consider their works so important as to have to be transmitted to posterity, while the producers, after the commercial exploitation, destroyed copies and negatives to recover the silver and in some cases (Ch . Pathé) also support.
Nor can it be said that what remains, as indeed what is currently produced, is safe from deterioration: restoration and conservation have the sole purpose of bringing the works until it is possible to use a vehicle that offers a duration in indefinite time, as digital technology is supposed to be.
The difficulty of restoring old films derives above all from the fact that one does not work on a single document, as in the case of a painting, a fresco, a statue, but on an object that has been reproduced in multiple copies and on a support, such as it was said, labile. Furthermore, it should be stressed that the available copies are not all identical, for the interventions made in later periods by the same author, imposed by censorship or commercial reasons.
It is therefore necessary that the first step of a true restoration, especially if of an ancient work, is to collect the maximum of elements (the text of the script, even if it represents only the project and often does not have a precise response with the film then filmed, the writings and criticisms of the time) and, above all, the greatest possible quantity of copies and also of fragments deposited or dispersed among film archives and private individuals.
To establish the year of production it is very useful, if available, the censorship stamp which also reports the original length of the film. Sometimes the progressive number of the scene was reported in ink on the first negative frame of each of them, confirming the order and completeness of the work. Patiently, comparing the copies, fragments and documents found, one can reconstruct the sequence of scenes that is closest to that of the original work. The 'part description notebooks', which are essentially a post-production work, schemes necessary to glue the various positive scenes after printing and possible coloring, as was done at the time of the silent.
The film essentially consists of the support and the emulsion . The latter is the seat of the image, the support is the material on which the emulsion is applied. During the hundred years of the history of the c., For the evolution of the technique, the support has changed at least three times.
The first support was celluloid, a cellulose nitrate with the addition of plasticizers and solvents, which is purified to be made transparent, and finally laminated. The celluloid (invented by the Hyatt brothers in 1869 ) appeared to the pioneers of c. an ideal support, resistant and at the same time flexible, so much so that, despite its drawbacks, it was used until the 1950s. Celluloid, in fact, is an easily flammable and unstable material, as it destroys itself by decomposition, attacked by the nitrous vapors that it releases itself. The decomposition progressively lowers the degree of ignition, so much so that when you get to the pulverization stage, the ignition temperature dropped to just 41° C. The main cause of the disappearance of many works is in fact self-combustion.
Celluloid, in the late fifties, was replaced by cellulose triacetate, self-extinguishing and therefore not dangerous. However, the triacetate has also proved to be attackable, albeit in long times and in particular conditions, by the acetic acid which is freed from the compound. Once the celluloid has disappeared, the films largely use triacetate.
A new support replaces triacetate today, especially for archival materials: polyester (polyethylene terephthalate), absolutely stable, with tear resistance characteristics superior to triacetate, great flexibility and transparency, exceptional dimensional stability.
The emulsion is spread on the support in several layers, the main of which contain the image, be it in color or in black and white. This emulsion consists of refined animal gelatin in which sensitive products, colored filters and antistatic products are dissolved or dispersed. The advances in the field of chemical products introduced in the various layers and the way of applying the latter, preventing their mutual contamination, have made it possible to significantly improve the image quality both in terms of definition and color range, to ensure greater durability and to make the film manufacturing process faster and therefore cheaper.
Depending on their function, filmed documents are divided into several types:
Original negative. It is the material that, passing through the camera, is used to form the various scenes of the film, cut in their useful length and added together; the original negative can be in black and white or in color (today of the monopack type ).
Positive master . Also called lavander (or lavender), it is a low contrast black and white film, obtained by printing from the original negative, from which negative duplicates can also be taken by printing.
Negative duplicate . Also known as a countertype or dupe , it represents the most perfect copy of the original negative. In general, the distribution copies that go to cinemas are printed by the countertype, to protect the original negatives.
Distribution copies . These are the copies that are printed to be distributed in cinemas for commercial screenings. Most of these copies, being used today in automated projection systems, are on a polyester support.
Interpositive . Color film monopack low contrast (such as lavander ), derived from the original color negative, allows, to protect it, to print the color negative duplicates.
Internegative . Also called duplicate negative (in color) it is, as for black and white, a second negative from which to draw the distribution copies; it can be sent abroad for the printing of foreign copies.
Select trichrome. They can be three original negatives, shot with the three strips system or three positives obtained from the original monopack negative , for protection against color instability. Each of the selections contains respectively the red, green and blue information of the image, according to the three-color canons.
The restoration of the original negative
The recovery of a film, of which there is neither a good complete positive master (or an interpositive), nor a good countertype, can be done, after the philological examination, using chemical, physical and photographic means on the available copies. Today it is possible to obtain extraordinary results with IT methods, which however are still slow and expensive.
Manual restoration operations start from an accurate control of the physical state, from a washing, in water or in volatile solvents, sometimes from a manual cleaning frame by frame. It is essential to check and possibly remake or reinforce the joints, which represent the weakest part of an old negative. The irreparably damaged parts are replaced by duplicates taken from other recovered documents. The perforations are repaired by gluing perforated strips on the sides of the film obtained from fragments of film of the same age and type.
Once restored, the original negative, if with flammable support, must be duplicated on a safety support and for this you must first of all make a positive master ( lavander ) from which you can reproduce an unlimited number of negative duplicates, thus saving the film . The printing of the lavander is carried out with machines adapted to the pitch of the perforations, often reduced due to the possible shrinkage of the support.
If the negative shows signs of wear or superficial lines, it is advisable to use the so-called liquid printing to make the lavander . This consists in covering the film with a liquid or immersing it in it. The liquid, having the same refractive index as the emulsion, masks the surface imperfections of the film during printing.
The missing color can be regenerated, albeit always with modest results, either chemically or physically. Chemically, treatments can be studied that regenerate the color that is transforming into its leukobase. By physical means it is possible to try to draw from the negative, in which the contrast of one or more dyes has been substantially lost, of the high contrast selections in order to regenerate at least a part of them. Other times we try with special prints, using controlled glazing ( flachatura ) in particular colors, to recover what has been lost. Unfortunately none of these methods guarantee optimal results, however they allow to improve an otherwise compromised situation.
The restoration of old copies . - In the early days of c. the subsequent stages of development took place on frames of limited capacity: the various scenes were developed one by one and then glued together, in the order indicated in the 'part description notebooks', which contained the progressive number, the length, a brief description and indications for any coloring. In fact, most of the silent films contained scenes tacked, imbibed or subjected to mordant with conventional colors that adapted to the type of scene.
Generating copies with the colors of the time today is not simple nor always possible: using color film, with special filters or glazes, an attempt was made to find the original colors, but this was very difficult, even using various methods. Some restoration laboratories have put the original tools back into use to redo the color changes and imbibitions, so as to recreate the conditions of the time. The skill and patience of some restorers have made it possible to obtain copies of some old films which are certainly very similar, as a sequence of scenes and as coloring, to the originals of the time. This is the case of Cabiria ( 1914), which the National Cinema Museum of Turin returned to us as G. Pastrone had designed it, finding and reinserting the parts that the censorship of the time had eliminated, turning scene by scene and imbibing the film with the systems of the time, reconstructing the captions in the original style. Today there is a tendency to increasingly use computer-based restoration (electronic or digital restoration).
The restoration of the image with the digital system
Having in hand a powerful means of intervention on the cinematographic image, transparent transcription, the same means was applied to the reconstruction of damaged parts of old or new films. With the digital technique it is relatively easy to eliminate some defects that cannot be corrected with the purely optical one, keeping the original definition.
The restoration takes place with the same system used for the creation of special effects: the original or the available copy, after a first check and physical arrangement, are passed to the scanner. On the computer the image is shown, frame by frame, on a new film. In this way it is possible to replace the missing frames taken from other copies or fragments, restore the original format, erase that dust called slack jargon. Some operations are automated with special software programs such as that, for eliminating pinching, which avoids retouching frame by frame by hand. It is possible to mask a cut or a tear that takes a few frames: the edges of the damaged film are put together, so to speak, electronically and a touch-up is carried out at the junction that covers the small parts that may be missing. Given the slowness and high costs of digital cameras, this type of restoration is currently generally extended to short sequences or even just a few frames.
With the electronic restoration it is also possible to recreate missing frames or parts of the frame: this is obtained, if you do not have another copy, by averaging the pixel values of the previous frame and those of the following frame.
For more recent films, and in particular for color films in which one or more colors appear faded due to the natural degradation of the dye, chemically unstable, or due to bad preservation or treatment, it is possible to intervene by increasing the contrast of the single degraded color, practically impossible and in any case unsatisfactory with ordinary chemical or physical means of classical restoration.
Without wishing to say that in the near future the electronic restoration will replace the classic one that uses physical cleaning and photographic and chemical interventions, certainly, when the costs and times of the machines will be reduced, the restoration will use the electronic medium very frequently. also the merit of not intervening, modifying it, on the original document.
The digital restoration of the soundtrack
Likewise, digitally, soundtracks of which old copies have come to us can be restored, with a strong background noise (for subsequent transcriptions) and with noises that have been added due to the presence of joints in bad condition, of wear or scratches on the film.
The original column is transcribed in digital form on a magnetic tape (such as DAT, Digital Audio Tape ) and this is placed on a machine (such as the cine box), which allows you to view the soundtrack diagram corresponding to a limited time interval. You can then, with the help of the machine, pick up a certain length of the soundtrack and transfer it or duplicate it in another position, where the sound has disappeared. Sudden noises due to seams, scratches and signs of wear can be physically erased. It is also possible to eliminate or reduce the background noise, if constant, by taking its modulation from a silent zone and then subtracting the digital values along the whole roller. Since the bytes are much less than needed for building the image, the work is much simpler and faster. In the end a regenerated digital magnetic tape is obtained which can be transcribed to form a new negative-sound.
Conservation of the restored work
The restoration work has its limits: it regenerates or completes what is left of the original negative, but the new negative (or positive), once made and approved, cannot be used, under penalty of the appearance of any new defects. It must be considered untouchable and preserved in the best possible conditions. The usable product is therefore the interpositive (or the internegative) or the positive master ( lavander ) or the dupe , obtained from it. From this the negative duplicates will be produced which will produce the 'restored' copies. Thus we will always have a product of at least second generation and therefore of a quality not equal to the restored one.
Only when the transparent transcription has become faster and less expensive, will we be able to derive from the restored original negative a new negative perfectly equal to the first, so as to provide us with copies as if they were first generation. Better yet, in the future it will be possible to translate the film on a new support that ensures an indefinite duration without loss of quality. The progress that has been made in the field of CD-ROMs and magnetic tapes of the TDF type gives hope that, within a few years, the new indefinite-life support is no longer a dream, but a reality.
Compared to the CD-ROM (which can contain only a few sequences of a cinematographic work on a disc), the DVD ( Digital Versatile Disk ) is able to host an entire film on a single disc. This disc is made up of two layers that allow you to double the capacity: in a first step the laser beam is focused on the first layer which, being transparent, allows a second independent focusing on the innermost layer.
Bibliography
Stereostory. A century of sound reproduction , Rome 1984.
The workshops of the imaginary , Rome 1986.
S. Lambert, J. Sallis, The interactive videodisc and CDs I, Milan 1987.
F. Faraco, TM Lazzari, CA Brands, Electronic publishing and optical memories , Pomezia 1988.
E. Pasculli , The cinema of genius. Storytelling, image, technology , sl 1990.
M. Calzini, Technical history of the film and the disc. Two inventions - one adventure , Bologna 1991.
N. Negroponte, Being digital , New York 1995 (trad. It. Milano 1995 ).
Legislation
by Giuseppe Santaniello
The legislation on c. it reflects the complexity of the cinematographic phenomenon, which is presented today in an articulated way and with multifaceted structures. It does not only represent a particular form of manifestation of thought, in its culturally relevant profiles and social implications, but also acquires a specific dimension from an industrial point of view in reference to both production and distribution and offering to the public.
It must be considered that cinematography shows a line of continuous evolution especially in more recent periods, so that the themes of the sector's legislation have become more and more numerous. Furthermore, the territorial areas in which the various regulations operate at various levels have expanded, some of which find their source in national legislation and others in regional legislation. A particularly relevant area is constituted by the regulations for the development and strengthening of cinematographic activities, for the establishment of special 'funds' and structures in charge of management.
In such a vast field of rules aimed at governing the multiple moments and the different phases of cinematography, some points of particular importance deserve to be indicated: a ) an important chapter of the publicity discipline of cinematography is that relating to the reports of c. with television. Between the two means there is an interdependence from an expressive and entrepreneurial point of view; it is logical that the structures of the film industry and those of television broadcasting converge, more and more intensely, towards a confluence of interests and a web of relationships; b ) in the cinematographic sector, the production of regional laws is particularly relevant. Already the Presidential Decree of 24 July 1977 nr.616 had recognized to the Regions a possibility of intervention in relation to prose, musical and cinematographic activities. And this regional activity has assumed, from the eighties onwards, an increasing rhythm, so that - as was pointed out exactly by R. Zaccaria ( 1989 ) - three types can be identified: 1 ) a form of intervention characterized by measures of financial content; 2 ) a series of organic measures with structural solutions and with measures of multi-year effectiveness; 3 ) the provision of direct organization of shows and events. This type of intervention is mainly entrusted to local bodies, which make use of specific contributions from the Regions; c) a legislative strand is also found in the criminal area: the criminal provisions in the field of cinematography and theater are contained not only in the penal code (articles 528 - 529 , articles 666 - 668 ), but also in the special legislation (law 21 Apr. 1962 nr. 161 , art. 15 , amended by the. 1st March 1994 nr. 153 , and l. 4 Nov. 1965 nr. 1213 , art. 40 ).
In the broader context of the rules for the protection of copyright, art. 171 ter of the l. Apr 22 1941 nr. 633 , introduced by d. legisl. Nov 16 1994 no. 685 (which repealed Law no. 400 of 20 July 1985 ). In particular, this provision punishes with imprisonment from 3 months to 3 years and with the fine anyone illegally duplicates or reproduces for profit, with any procedure, works intended for the cinema or television circuit.
A far-reaching legislation is contained in Law no. March 1 , 1994 no. 153 . Its qualifying points are the following:
- for the purposes of recognition of Italian nationality, the film is defined as the show made on any type of medium with narrative or documentary content (provided that it is an intellectual work), intended for the public, primarily in the cinema, by the owner of the rights of use. In relation to the admission to the expected benefits, the artistic and technical components of the film work are: Italian director, author of the Italian subject, Italian screenwriter, main interpreters mostly Italian, use of Italian technical industries and installation theaters;
- national feature films are eligible for benefits, provided that, in addition to adequate technical suitability requirements, they also possess sufficient artistic, cultural or spectacular qualities. Without prejudice to freedom of expression, films that vulgarly exploit sexual or commercial speculation themes cannot be admitted to the benefits themselves;
- the art. 12 , in regulating the relationship between television programming and film works, provides that these works are susceptible to exploitation by television broadcasters only after 24 months have elapsed since the first release of the films in cinemas in Italy;
- the rule pursuant to art. 13 introduces important rules relating to concentration operations, establishing that in competition matters the same provisions of the general 'antitrust' law established by Law no. 10 oct. 1990 no. 287 . In particular, the merger operations must be previously communicated to the competition and market authority if, through the merger, a market share is held or controlled, even in only one of the twelve head-zone cities of the film distribution, above 25% of cinema distribution turnover and at the same time the number of cinemas operating there;
- specific rules are aimed at giving a precise defining formula to national associations and film culture circles, indicating the necessary requirements as well as the possibility of using contributions;
- general regulations are outlined for the granting of loans to film companies;
- the public register for cinematography is established, held by SIAE, in which all the film works produced or imported in Italy and intended for programming in cinemas are registered.
The profiles outlined above demonstrate the complexity and breadth of our cinematography legislation. In particular, the regulation of the sector, in its publicity aspects, originated a regulatory and organizational apparatus of considerable size. The particular form of manifestation of thought, inherent in filmic work, the ability of filmic messages to penetrate society fully justify the attention of the legislator, whose work requires constant adaptation to a reality in continuous development.
In this regard, it should be noted that in order to rationalize the organizational structure of the various commissions and committees, established by law, operating in the entertainment sector, the d. legisl. January 8 1998 no. 3 , implementing the delegation envisaged by Law no. March 15 , 1997 no. 59 , dictated the rules for the reorganization of the collegial bodies operating in the Prime Minister (show department). Also with the d. legisl. Nov 18 1997 no. 426 the Experimental Center for Cinematography, already a public body established with Law no. March 24 , 1942nr. 419 , was transformed into a foundation, with the new name of the National Film School, on the assumption that the legal personality of private law allows a better and more rational performance of the body's functions.
Bibliography
S. Santoro , Preliminary considerations around the show , in Broadcasting and Telecommunications Law , 1969 , p. 221.
E. Modica , Reform of cinema and decentralization , in a democratic municipality , 1971 , 4 , p. 67.
Public intervention and freedom of expression in cinema, theater and musical activities , by ISLE (Institute for documentation and legislative studies), Milan 1974.
R. Ferrara, The administration of the show, notes and reflections , in the administrative forum , 1980 , 1 , p. 545.
PV Pinto, The collateral activities of RAI: intervention in the cinematographic sector in Italy , in Italian legislation on cinematography , Milan 1982.
R. Zaccaria , Cinematography, administrative discipline , in Digest. Publicity Disciplines , Turin 1989 , vol. 3rd .
Oscar Awards
The Oscar statuettes were first awarded on May 16 , 1929 at the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood. Although the first sound film had already been made, The jazz singer by Alan Crosland ( 1927 ; The jazz singer), all the films nominated and awarded during this first edition were silent. The categories were divided as follows: best film, best director for drama, best director for brilliant film, best actor, best actress, best original screenplay, best non-original screenplay, best photography, best scenography, best drawing of the headlines , best dramatic constructions. From the next edition, the directing award was no longer divided into dramatic and brilliant film, but unified. The prize for the best soundtrack was awarded for the first time in 1934 . The one for the best foreign film in 1947 . In editions 1928-29 and 1929-30a single statuette was awarded for the script. The division of the prize between original and non-original screenplay reappeared in the 1930-31 edition . From 1939 the prize was also divided into the category for the best photography: best black and white photography and best color photography. This subdivision remained unchanged until the 1967 edition (with the only exception of 1957, when a single statuette was awarded to Jack Hildyard for The bridge on the river Kwai , 1957 , The bridge over the River Kwai ). Since 1967,then, as the making of black and white films has become increasingly rare, only color films have been awarded. Only in 1994 did Janusz Kaminski get the Oscar for Schindler's List , a work shot mainly in black and white. Even the prize for the best scenography was divided (black and white and color) from 1940 and, as for photography, this separation remained unchanged until 1967 (with the exceptions for the 1957 and 1958 editions in which a single statuette was awarded for the category). The soundtrack category had an eventful existence in the history of the Oscars. The first statuette for music began to be awarded by1934. As early as 1938 the prize for the soundtrack was separated from that for the original soundtrack. From 1941 the Oscar began to be awarded to the best soundtrack for dramatic film and to the best soundtrack for musical film. The following year the denomination 'best soundtrack for dramatic film' underwent a new variation: 'best soundtrack for dramatic or brilliant film'. From 1950 the bright attribute was replaced by comedy , but from 1953this sub-category went back to being called 'soundtrack for dramatic or brilliant film'. The division between best soundtrack for dramatic or brilliant film and best soundtrack for musical film remained unchanged until 1961, with the exception of 1957, when a single prize was awarded. From 1962 to 1984 the separation within the category returned between the original soundtrack and the non-original soundtrack (with the exceptions of the 1970 editions , with the prize split between the original soundtrack and original or adapted songs, and 1980 and 1981 , when a single prize was awarded). From 1985 to1994 a single statuette was again attributed to the soundtrack. In 1995 a new subdivision took place: best soundtrack for drama and best soundtrack for musical or comedy. The following year there was another change (currently unchanged): best soundtrack for drama and best soundtrack for comedy.
In the history of the Oscars, films that have won the most statuettes have been Ben-Hur ( 1959 ) by William Wyler and Titanic ( 1997 ) by James Cameron. There have also been 'illustrious forgotten' by the Oscars. The most sensational cases among the directors are those of Charlie Chaplin, King Vidor, Howard Hawks, Orson Welles, Stanley Kubrick and Martin Scorsese. Among the actors, Cary Grant, Edward G. Robinson (who had only a late recognition of his career), Kirk Douglas, Montgomery Clift, James Mason. Among the actresses, Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich and Marilyn Monroe (who did not even have a nomination ). *